August 2016 – Danforth East Community Association

August 26, 2016

This is the place to be this weekend

Art, yoga, jazz, Olympians, laneway crawl – Danforth East is the centre of the universe this weekend!

SATURDAY

Art of the Danforth, 10am-10pm in Robertson Parkette (Coxwell & Danforth), FREE

If you haven’t yet checked out this year’s Art of the Danforth (which DECA/Danforth East Arts Fair have proudly sponsored this year) don’t fret. It is not too late. They have created a Festival Hub in Robertson Parkette at Danforth & Coxwell and it’s really very special. If you don’t know where to start, start there. We’ve posted the schedule below but you should particularly note the 3pm Climate Talk (it’s kids interviewing adults and we hear it is really awesome) and the 5pm Syrian Children’s Choir.

12:30pm FREE Neighbourhood Lunch

3:00pm Madeleine Collective – Climate Talks 2

5:00pm NAI – Syrian Children’s Choir – Performance

7:00pm DIRECTOR’s Talk

Yoga in Stephenson Park, Saturday from 9-10am, $5 suggested donation

Jazz at Hope United, Saturday starting at 4:30pm, pay what you can

This Saturday is another Jazz Vespers show at Hope United (Danforth & Main), 4:30pm. PWYC. Paul Novotny and Tom Reynold’s will perform. Here’s a write-up from the Beach Metro for more info.

Penny Oleksiak – Say Congratulations!

A book of well wishes for Penny Oleksiak will be available for signing at Dulux Paint, 2031 Danforth from 11am-5pm on Saturday, Aug 27. This will be presented on Sunday between 12-2 during the formal program following the parade (see below).

PokeParents ‘Learn to Play’, Face to Face Games, 2077a Danforth starting at 2pm -FREE

Face to Face is hosting their third PokeParents event starting at 2pm. Staff will be happy to teach you and your little ones how to play the game or introduce you to other local families interested in the game. Cafe will also be open, including ice cream.

This event is meant for all ages and completely free of charge. Face to Face is above the Pizza Pizza at the corner of Danforth & Woodbine.

Check out the Facebook event for all the details!

SUNDAY

Parade for East End Olympians, Sunday from 11am-noon (rain or shine)

DECA is so proud to be co-organizing the parade for Penny Oleksiak and some other amazing Canadian athletes (still being determined but we will post on Facebook when list is confirmed), along with the Beach Village BIA, Councillor McMahon, MP Erskine-Smith and MPP Potts.

Join us on the route in DECA cheering section from East Lynn Ave to Woodbine! Bring signs, flags and wear red & white!

Note: the parade is not starting in East Lynn Park as some have reported. Please find your spot along the route.

Laneway Crawl, 1-5pm in the laneway north of Danforth between Woodbine & Woodmount, free

We are so excited about our first-ever laneway crawl. DECA volunteers have been collaborating East End Arts and the Laneway Project to pull of this amazing event. If you need the full rundown on all the activities going on, check out our earlier blog post. Here’s a brief refresher of the FREE activities:

5 murals being painted during the crawl – come meet the artists and watch them at work.
pick-up hockey
Zumba dancing
live music
clown
a scavenger hunt by Looking Glass Games
Board games by Game Masters Table
hopscotch
Bunz Zone for trading
Urban Doctors and Art Crawlers.
You can even suggest a name for the lane!

There will also be facepainting for $2 and a laneway patio with refreshments.

Here is a sneak peak of a mural painted last week by local muralist, Monica Wickeler.

Art of the Danforth, 10am-10pm, FREE

Here’s the Sunday schedule – last day of the festival but never too late to check it out! artofthedanforth.com

10:00am Festival Hub Opens

12:30pm FREE Neighbourhood Lunch

6:00pm Centre for Communication and Poetry Research – Poetry Reading

8:00pm A Selection of songs sung by Willis Lloyd

August 24, 2016

Last August Farmers’ Market

As hot as it has been it is hard to believe that summer is winding down and fall is right around the corner. Come out and enjoy the heat while it lasts at the final farmer’s market in August! Here’s the run down of what you can expect this week:

Celebrate 10 years with Fly Girl Fitness: Fly Girl Fitness is celebrating its 10th year helping our community to live a healthy and holistic lifestyle. They offer group training and mindful movement classes along with private training to increase confidence, gain a mind body connection and prevent disease. They will be offering a free Fitness for Boomers at the market. Come out to meet the staff, get information or try a class!
Rube Goldberg and spinning art machines with TTL Kids: Rube Goldberg Machines are always intriguing, come and see what kind of chain reactions the Young Makers have designed this week. Starting at 4pm the spinning art machines will be back courtesy of the Tool Library! Young Makers can explore motors and switches while creating their own piece of art.
Music and creative activities with Blossoming Minds: Enjoy musical activities with Kinder Flute teacher Stephanie Superle and self-guided creative activities with Krista Dahlgren from the Blossoming Minds Learning Centre.
Danforth East Arts Fair in September: The Danforth East Arts Fair is coming September 17-18! Find out more about the fair and how you can help at the market.
13th Street Winery: Stop by for a sample of chardonnay from 13th Street Winery who come to us from the St. Catharines region.

And this just in – we will have a book of well wishes for Penny Oleksiak available for neighbours to sign. We will present it to her on Sunday following the parade (join us in DECA cheering section from East Lynn Ave to Woodbine!)
The East Lynn Farmers’ Market runs every Thursday from 3-7:00 p.m. between June 2 – October 13 at East Lynn Park, located on the south side of Danforth Ave, just west of Woodbine Ave. Stay up to date by visiting the East Lynn Market Facebook page or by following us on Twitter.

August 18, 2016

Countdown to a laneway crawl!

We’re having a party in the laneway and you’re invited! If you’ve never been to a laneway crawl – you’re in for a treat. We have lots of free activities for all ages including a scavenger hunt, Zumba dancing, live music, pick-up street hockey and the longest hopscotch in the east end. We’re so excited to be collaborating with our friends East End Arts and the Laneway Project. Woo hoo! Mark your calendars, just over a week to go!

lanepartyphoto — Photo courtesy of the Laneway Project

What: Danforth East Laneway Crawl

Where: The laneway north of Danforth between Woodbine and Woodmount.

When: Sunday August 28^th, 1:00-5:00pm.

There’s something for everyone. Come find us on Sunday, August 28th 1-5pm!

Play on the longest hopscotch in the east end
Try Zumba dancing
Meet Buttons the clown
Have some bubbly fun in the lane with Silly Goose
Play pick-up street hockey
Get a beautiful henna tattoo
Visit the City Doctors
Watch seven artists create murals (Also not to be missed Art of the Danforth Aug 20-28!)
Shop the nooks on the lane by Design Nook
Relax on our patio with live music and free cold refreshments courtesy of Paul Indrigo.
Suggest a name for the laneway
Dream about the future with folks from Laneway Futures
Solve the clues on our scavenger hunt by Looking Glass Games
Join a Pokemon Go Worshop in the lane from 1-2pm with Face to Face Games
Play some awesome free games on Woodmount outside Game Masters Table

Share the event on Facebook and come out for some fun, rain or shine!

pokemanlane — Photo courtesy of the Laneway Project

Drop us a line at renew@deca.to if you can lend a hand or if you have a question about the Crawl. We need a few more volunteers and you’ll be working with an awesome group of neighbours.

On Thurs. Aug. 25 between 4-8pm we need help painting/ priming walls and doors to get ready for the murals. Meet in the lane and work any 2 hour shift.
On Aug. 28, help out by directing people through the lane or work on any activity team (two hour shifts).

A great big thank you to all the businesses and residents for lending us their garages and driveways to host the activities. We are so grateful to the amazing mural artists who will be beautifying the laneway with their work. Support from TD Foundation, the City of Toronto & StreetARToronto is gratefully acknowledged.

See you at the #DanforthEast Laneway Crawl!

August 16, 2016

Grab your picnic blanket—it’s movie night at East Lynn!

Summer’s starting to hit its peak, but there’s lots of fun ahead yet at our park! For starters, this Thursday is movie night. Hosted by Councillor Mary Margaret McMahon, the Peanuts Movie will start at 8:30 p.m. It’s a family-friendly flick, so don’t miss it. And no need to make your own popcorn, it’ll be on sale during the screening.

Not able to make the movie? Don’t worry, there’s lots of great entertainment happening at the Market, like a live performance from Sonshine and Broccoli, starting at 5:30 p.m. The Toronto Public Library will have stories for the kids starting at 4:30 p.m. and DesignNook will be running bubble craft activities—visit their booth (and ask them about their newest Nook opening on our stretch of the Danforth).

For your sipping pleasure!

All our awesome farmers will be on site selling delicious produce, meats, baked goods and more this week (don’t miss the peaches! They’re perfection right now), including wineries Rancourt and Creekside.

A wellness break

Come and talk to Pegasus Dance Studios between 4:30 and 6:30 on the benefits of Dance in your child’s life. Not only is dance beneficial for physical development but did you know that emotional, social and cognitive attributes also can be linked to dance! Pegasus will help you find the best extra-curricular activities for your child to keep them happy and healthy this fall, in the Danforth East Area.

Got an old car seat?

Plus, are you looking to get rid of your old car seat? Don’t leave it on the side of the curb, come learn about a unique car seat recycling program that will soon be coming to our neighborhood care of Silly Goose Kids & Merrily Merrily. Red Propeller is a social enterprise that helps Ontario families recycle their kids’ car seats but also provides work to those facing barriers to employment. Talk about a great opportunity to teach your lil’ environmentalist-in-the-making all about recycling. Check out the poster below for the full details about upcoming drop-off dates and locations. (Please don’t lug your car seats to the market this week as the Red Propeller crew will only be on hand to answer questions, the two drop off dates are in September.)

And, of course, swing by the DECA booth to learn more about our work in the community and how you can be a part of it. There’s so much more to come at our Market in the weeks to come–but this one’s going to be a highlight of the season—see you there!

The East Lynn Farmers’ Market runs every Thursday from 3-7:00 p.m. between June 2 – October 13 at East Lynn Park, located on the south side of Danforth Ave, just west of Woodbine Ave. Stay up to date by visiting the East Lynn Market Facebook page or by following us on Twitter.

August 10, 2016

In the market for some fun?

Last week’s market was peachy! Our farmers had lots of Ontario-grown peaches on hand, not to mention blueberries and corn on the cob. Produce that screams “summer!”

Here’s what you can look forward to this week:

Shakespeare in the ruff

The Guerrilla Ruffian Squad will perform two improvised, ten-minute Shakespeare plays, as well as lead two half hour workshops simultaneously from 4-4:30 p.m. Swordplay for people aged 11+ and singing for all ages.

Get rejuvenated

Find out how you can enhance your health and bring out your natural beauty with Facial Rejuvenation Acupuncture. Naturopathic Doctor Nana Jokura from Accept Wellness will be offering complimentary mini consults and Tongue & Pulse Diagnosis from 4-6 p.m.

You spin me right round

TTL Kids! will be teaching kids how to do spin art on DIY machines.

Summer sips

Prince Edward County’s Karlo Estates – the world’s first Vegan Certified winery – and St. Catharines’ 13th Street Winery will be on hand to share the fruits of their labour. Drop by for a tasting or to pick up a bottle or few.

August 9, 2016

Help imagine a future for your laneway and laneways across Toronto!

So excited for our upcoming Laneway Crawl on August 28th. The Laneway Futures team will be joining us! Thanks to guest blogger Mike Stulberg for this post.

On July 3rd, Laneway Futures T.O met with residents of the Danforth East community to learn more about what community members envision for the future of their laneways. As part of the consultation, passersby in the laneway just North of Danforth Avenue and West of Woodbine Avenue were met with the challenge of reimagining that laneway in the year 2035!

Armed with markers and stickers, local residents took to the task of brainstorming potential new uses for some of the things typically found in the laneways today (ex. pavement, garages, curbs, graffiti, etc.). With over 20 participants throughout the day, the exercise facilitated introductions and created conversation, while making areas of common interest between residents visible for all to see.

Caption: an assortment of ideas about what this laneway should look like in 2035 — An assortment of ideas about what this laneway should look like in 2035

“Bringing the community together in conversation around this shared resource may prove to be an important first step towards making collective improvements to these spaces…whatever improvements this community would like to see” says Mike Stulberg of Laneway Futures T.O

In a city with a growing need for residential, commercial, recreational, and green spaces, many believe that Toronto’s 300km of laneways are a significantly underutilized resource. For the Laneway Futures T.O team, made up of recent graduates from OCAD University, using the laneways themselves to play host to this conversation, can help communities engage more constructively- and democratically- in planning improvements to these spaces.

Team — Laneway Futures T.O (Jennie, Eman, Mike) began several months ago when the team received funding from RECODE; a program providing social innovation and entrepreneurship opportunities for College and University students in Ontario

As part of the Danforth East Laneway Crawl on August 28th, responses from last month’s consultation will be used to create temporary laneway installations set in the year 2035. The team believes that providing residents with physical manifestations of their ideas will encourage a deeper exploration of what is possible-and preferable- for the future of Toronto’s laneways.

“One thing that stood out from the responses last weekend was the desire for the laneways to act as a hub of connectivity between neighbours, the community and the city at large; this appeared to be particularly important to local residents in the context of preserving their laneways and reducing unwanted behavior within them. Whatever we stage on August 28th, we will be sure to address these issues as well as other issues we will learn about in consultation with local residents,” says Stulberg.
The Laneway Futures T.O team invites you to join them in the laneway (just North of the Danforth, running East/West between Woodbine Ave. and Woodmount Ave.) on August 28th to experience this scenario first hand.

Futher details can be found on the event page:
https://www.facebook.com/events/281588465540070/

The team can be reached at:
LanewayfuturesTO@gmail.com